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Glite Dictionary
dog fennel

dog fennel

9.6
A common North American weed with thin, feathery leaves and a strong smell when crushed
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : hinojo de perro
  • The field was overgrown with dog fennel and other wild plants.

Examples

  • We pulled up the dog fennel that had taken over the garden paths.

  • The dog fennel gives off a distinctive odor when its leaves are crushed.

  • I saw a dog fennel plant in the garden.

  • The dog fennel has a strong smell.

  • The dog fennel produces a strong scent that can be unpleasant to some people.

  • During our hike, we noticed that many areas were covered in dog fennel.

  • The gardener struggled to control the spread of dog fennel in his flower beds.

Synonyms

Eupatorium capillifolium
vsdog fennel
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant like a weed with divided leaves and small greenish flower clusters that spreads easily in warm places

is more widely found across North America rather than only the southeast

Surface Forms

dog fennel singular
dog fennels plural

Morphology

dog + fennel

The headword clearly names a plant and includes 'fennel', so a learner who knows 'fennel' will likely infer it is a fennel-like plant; however the modifier 'dog' here functions as a pejorative/folk-classifier (meaning inferior, false, or weedy) and that nuance and the specific referent (a strong-smelling weedy species rather than true fennel) is not fully predictable without prior exposure. Because the basic category (a type of fennel/plant) is derivable but the precise sense and connotation require familiarity, this is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Dog fennel may come from a simple image: people thought the plant smelled a little like fennel, but it was a rough, common weed so they added dog to show it was 'not the real fennel'. That's why the name is used today for a strong-smelling, weedy plant.